To make Orange biscuits:

• 350g plain flour
• 100g self-raising flour
• 125g granulated sugar
• 125g salted butter, diced
• 125g golden syrup
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Grated zest of 2 oranges

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170c/350f/gas mark 4 before you begin making your biscuits.
• Sift the flours together into a mixing bowl; add the sugar and orange zest. Mix well; for best results use an electric hand mixer.
• Add the butter. Using just the tips of your fingers, rub together the ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• When all the butter is evenly mixed in, make a well in the centre and add the syrup and the egg.
• Mix well, drawing in any of the flour left at the sides of the bowl and stop as soon as a ball has formed.
• Place the dough onto your clean worktop. Divide into two and squash the dough into two even-sized flat discs. Cover and chill until ready to use, or roll out immediately.
• Place the dough on a sheet of parchment and begin by gently squashing the dough down with a rolling pin or your hands. Cover with a second sheet of parchment and then use the rolling pin to roll out properly.
• The top sheet of paper may crinkle from time to time, just peel it off and smooth it down gently before starting to roll again.
• Gently roll the dough until it is 5mm thick all over, then transfer the whole sheet of rolled dough still sandwiched between its sheets of parchment to a baking tray and place in the fridge to chill for at least 20 - 30 minutes before cutting.
• Biscuit cutters are widely available online, or you can choose to make your own. To do this, identify the shape you want to trace and lay a sheet of parchment on top, carefully tracing around the shape. Remember that you can ice on much more detail than needs to be reflected in the shape of the biscuit. Carefully cut the templates out with scissors.
• To use the dough efficiently cut the biscuits out as close together as possible. Lift each biscuit onto the parchment covered baking tray and make sure they are not too close together as the dough will spread a little on baking. Any trimmings can be re-rolled a couple of times.
• Evenly space the trays in the oven and cook for 14-18 minutes, depending on your oven.
• When the biscuits are evenly cooked and just beginning to turn a golden colour remove the trays from the oven and transfer the whole sheet of parchment to a cooling rack. Do this carefully as they will be quite fragile and hot!
• Cool totally before starting to ice.

Now the icing can begin!

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 900g icing sugar

• Place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and add the icing sugar.
• Whisk or beat for about 5 minutes if using an electric beater or whisk, or for longer if using a wooden spoon. Whisk slowly to start with to avoid clouds of icing sugar covering you and your kitchen!
• Continue whisking until the ingredients form a thick, smooth paste that is bright white in colour and has the consistency of toothpaste. To add colour, just stir in some colour paste until you get the colour you desire.
• To make the flood icing, just add a bit of water, a little at a time until it is the consistency of runny honey.
• If you are not using the icing immediately, cover the surface with cling film to stop it drying out and refrigerate.
• To start, cut your piping bag straight across to achieve a clean icing line. Always use a clean piping bag, so that your icing colours stay lovely and clean.
• We use two basic types of royal icing at Biscuiteers - a thick, smooth paste for piping details and edging, and a runnier glossy mixture for flooding larger areas.

Pink Passion Flower

• Ice two circles in raspberry icing in the centre of the flower like a bullseye.
• Flood the centre with raspberry icing and the outer ring with parma violet.
• Ice petal shapes around outside with raspberry icing then fill the petals with pink flood icing.
• Leave to dry. Use white line to make a stamen pattern, then go around it with raspberry icing.

Retro Orange Flower

• Using the piping icing (it should be smooth and thick, a bit like the texture of toothpaste), ice a white circle of dots in the middle of the biscuit.
• Ice a stylised petal pattern around the outside of the flower.
• Fill the middle with yellow flood icing and then the petals with runny, orange icing.
• Leave to dry, and then pipe on a green centre, orange dots and a green line pattern.

Shamrock Flower

• Ice around the outside in violet line icing.
• Fill with violet flooding icing then allow to dry.
• Use yellow line icing to ice a ring of touching dots and fill inside with raspberry flooding icing.
• Allow to dry then decorate raspberry icing with a circle of white line icing.

To explore more exquisitely made sweet treats from Biscuiteers, visit www.biscuiteers.com